we begin tonight with news about how a once stable section of the american workforces now taking a big hit. as we told you yesterday, the unemployment rate for june rose to 9.2%. that's the highest this year. there is also news that among the ranks of government employees of all levels 39,000 jobs were lost in june. elaine quijano on the status of public workers and what that could mean for everyone. >> reporter: when emergency calls come in, it's hard for matthew bennett to sit still. >> i've got got to sit on the sidelines, like the basketball player who has a bad knee. wants to play but can't play. >> reporter: for nearly five years, he worked as a firefighter in camden, new jersey. in january he was one of 60 to be laid-off. one-third of the department. >> i don't know what i'm going to do. i'm 36, i've got a high school education, i thought i had a career and now i don't. >> reporter: public sector jobs like his were along considered one of the most secure in hard times but that's changing. since september of 2008, 464,000 local government jobs have been eliminated. nearly 100,000